Vehicle-tire.



W. K. LEONARD.

V EHICLE TIRE. APPLICATION FILED AUG,25. 19H.

Patented May 25, 1915.

WILLIAM E. LEONARD, 0F PIQUA, OHIO.

VEHICLE-TIRE.

mamas.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application fiiea'au ust 25, 1911. Serial No. 645,988.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM K. LEONARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Piqua, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Tires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the art of softtread tires, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a practical substitute for the compressed air-cushion of the well-known pneumatic tire, together with a practical means for taking up the slight shrinkage which may occur in the rubber substitute material which I employ as a core for the tire in lieu of the'usual pneumatic core, or compensate for stretching of the outer casing.

In carrying out. my invention I mold a rubber substitute in such shape as to snugly fit within the ordinary outer ,casing of the tire and vulcanize the same to the latter, and I provide means for neutralizing the effect of the slight shrinkage which may occur within the body of the rubber substitute, or of the stretching of the casing, such means, in its preferred form, taking the form of a spring base which, by drawing together the sides or flanges of the tireholding rim, may be expanded radially so as to expand and force the material of the core into a snug fit with the casing.

My invention, its advantages, and its manner of use will all be readily understood when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a tire casing and core equipped with an expanding ring for taking up shrinkage of the core or stretching of the casing. Fig.2 shows the structure of Fig. 1 secured to the rim and felly of a wheel, and with the coreexpanding ring compressed. Fig. 3 is a perspective elevation of a fragment of the coreexpanding ring. I

Referringto the drawings, 10 designates as an entirety an ordinary outer casing of a pneumatic tire, such as is used on automobile wheels, and 11 designates thecore of "my improved tire designed to fit snugly within the casing 10, and consisting of any suitable rubber substitute. The particular material employed for this rubber substitute is not of the essence of the invention, it being suflicient for the purposes of the invention that such rubber substitute shall possess substantially all the qualities of soft rubber, so as to form a resilient core which may serve as a practical substitute for the body of compressed a1r which constitutes hoop having its margins inwardly turned,

as shown at 19 to conform substantially to the clencher flanges of the rim, and preferably transversely slotted at intervals as shown at 20 to thereby increase its transverse flexibility and expansibility. The broad intermediate portion of this ring or hoop engages the inner periphery of the core member 11, as clearly shown in Figs. 1

and 2, and the turned-in margins 19 with the overlapping marginal portions of the casing are securely clamped between clencher-' rim'sections 21 and 22. These latter are preferably formed with overlapping inner marginal portions 21' and 22 forming a lapped joint permitting of a limited degree a of adjustment of the rim sections transversely of the tire and felly. The sections 21 and 22 are secured to the elly 16 by radial flanges 21 and 22 and throughbolt .23; the adjustment being conveniently efiected by one or more thin washers 24 that may be interposed between either or.

both of the securing flanges of the rim and the side of the felly. In this form of the in; vention, if the core shrinks, as it may do slightly depending somewhat upon the particularv rubber substitute employed, or the casing stretches, by removing one or more of, the washers 24 and tightening up the bolts 23, the expansion-ring 18 may be bowed or sprung outwardly, as illustratedin Fig. 2, thereby expanding the core sufficiently within the casing to compensate for shrinking or stretching and causing the core I to again completely fill that part ofthe casing lyingbeyond the flanges of the rim.

It will be manifest to those skilled in the art of vehicle tires that the exact details of form and structure and relative arrange- I ment of parts as shown'in the drawings and hereinabove described might be considerably varied without involving any departure from the principles involved or sacrificing any of the merits and advantages of the in vention. Hence, I do not limit the latter to the particular form shown except tothe extent clearly indicated in specific claims.

I claim- 1. A tire comprising an outer casing, a core of rubber substitute within said casing a continuous annular core-expandingzmember of resilient metal within said casing'engaging the innerperiphery of said coreand provided with inturned marginal edges, in combination with a two-part clamping'rim having inturned mar 'nal edges in overlapping relation to the mturned edges of said expanding member, and means for drawing the two parts of said clam ing rim together for expanding said expan ing member.

2. .A tire comprising an outer casing, a core of rubber substltute within said casing,

a core-expander consisting of a thin steel said expander, and means for'drawing the two parts of saidclamping rim together for expanding said expander, I

- WILLiAM LEONARD. Witnesses:

S. PEPPER, O. S'rnmmmnn. 

